Don’t hide your light, Coca-Cola’s Watkins says

SU-LIN TAN
10 SEP 2014
AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

CCA chief executive Alison Watkins . . . ‘I realised I was being undemanding in a way that meant I was not setting myself and my teams up for success, and that wasn’t good for anyone.’ Photo: Edwina Pickles
Ms Watkins, a self-confessed tomboy who grew up on a farm in Tasmania, said she had never felt comfortable promoting herself.
“I definitely came from the school of putting your head down and doing a good job and hoping someone will notice you,” she told more than 800 leaders from the corporate, government and non-profit sectors at the Chief Executive Women’s annual dinner on Wednesday.
“Then I’d feel frustrated because maybe they did or maybe they didn’t.”
Ms Watkins said the turning point of her career came when she starting pushing in the workplace.
“I got some feedback from one of those surveys that showed my peers thought I had strong leadership attributes,” she said.
“But I rated myself much less favourably, which I took as a good thing until the excellent coach I had pointed out that it meant I was underestimating my ability to make a difference.
“I realised I was being undemanding in a way that meant I was not setting myself and my teams up for success, and that wasn’t good for anyone.”
‘TOUGH OPERATOR’ PREP
Putting these changes into her interview to become chief executive at GrainCorp landed her the top job.
Expecting a lukewarm reaction to a woman in the farming-orientated company, Ms Watkins prepared several “tough operator” examples.
“Even so, I remember clearly in my GrainCorp interview having that sinking ‘they are not taking you seriously’ feeling and challenging myself afterwards to stop feeling frustrated and start finding a different angle,” she said.
That angle was a letter to the chairman of GrainCorp outlining her credentials and her skills.
“I had no idea whether it made a difference, but I got the job and, with it, a drive to make the most of every opportunity every day and that I’d done everything I possibly could,” she said.
Ms Watkins is one of only four female chief executives in the top 50 Australian listed companies. She said it was critical to Australia’s economic and social growth that Australians do more to develop female leaders in the workplace and at home.
“It’s the way you are raising your children to understand they can do anything,” she said. “It’s the role you play as partner and parents; your decision to share the second shift at home.
“It’s the way you make a difference to women in your workplace; the risks you take to create opportunities for them and help them succeed, including in line roles.”
SUPPORT CRITICAL
A big supporter of women in operational line roles, Ms Watkins said another turning point in her career was going from being a consultant McKinsey & Co to running operations at ANZ, Berri Limited and GrainCorp.
“I will contribute to changing the perceptions of what a female leader is and to accelerating the day that will come when the term ‘female CEO’ doesn’t evoke any particular perceptions at all,” she said.
Ms Watkins also attributed her success to the people around her.
“Even though McKinsey was a long way from my upbringing in Tasmania, there’s no doubt I owe my dad for the golf and beer,” she said.
Discussing the economy with her father, who helped her buy her first shares in rural company Elders IXL, moulded her corporate acumen.
“When people give you what you know is a big break, it evokes a strong response. I was determined not to let them down,” she said.
Her partnership with her husband Rod, who gave up his job to be a stay-home dad, after their fourth child was born, was critical to finding the balance between work and family life.
Ms Watkins said her appointment at Coca-Cola Amatil was not the pinnacle of her career, but one of many.